BJJ Fanatics Sweeps the Finals Without Even Fielding Their Full Team

In the end, BJJ Fanatics arguably didn’t use their greatest weapons, as Lachian Giles, Nicky Rodriguez, and Gordon Ryan proved more than enough to put away ten other competitors at Kinektic I.

After Lachian Giles swept the semi finals, newcomer Nicky Rodriguez took the stage and proved he is more than deserving of the big leagues, with a savage heelhook late into his match against George Rodriguez.

Nicky went on to go the distance in a tense match with Ronny Markes that nearly came to blows and prompted veteran ref Frank Trigg to issue a warning. The match ended with Nicky inching closer to a rear naked choke, which he well may have finished with more time.

The stage was then set for Gordon Ryan, who swaggered onto the mat and made quick work of his two opponent with armbars and heelhooks respectively. The dream rematch of Ryan vs Magalhaes wasn’t meant to be, as Vinny opted to not compete due to contractual issues with his current signed MMA promotion. Instead, Bellator fighter Guilherme Vasconcelos stepped in on one day’s notice to compete. He was the last member standing of Team SUG, and was ultimately submitted by Ryan.

Of note was Team SUG fighter Rafael Domingos, who put up a serious fight against Ryan despite a more than fifty pound weight difference. At one point, the Damien Maia student sunk what looked like a deep guillotine on Ryan. He also escaped two of Ryan’s crucifix attacks, but ultimately had his back taken and was tapped out by Ryan.

Team Captain Craig Jones, and Edwin Najmi, did not compete.